Livingston1–3Formartine United

A year is a long time in football and back in 2018 this tie would have been in the first round of the Irn Bru Challenge Cup and played at Almondvale Stadium. Times change and this tie, rather dyspeptically, was played for the Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup at the Tony Macaroni Arena. However it comes to pretty much the same in the end where teams from the top divisions field Colts sides against the elite of the Highland League and elsewhere.

In the wake of a disappointingly flat performance against Fraserburgh at the weekend, manager Lawson was clearly looking for a reaction from his players. A new front pairing of Gethins and Lisle moved Wood to the bench, Kieran Lawrence displaced Smith at the back and with Rodger unavailable, they lined up in a conventional 4-4-2 set up. However these strategic changes were incidental to the increase in appetite apparent throughout the United side from the outset. It made for an interesting encounter. The Colts, well drilled in the possession aspects of the game, managed to retain the ball for long enough to look like they wanted to set a more studied pace than the much more direct United side were prepared to accept.

While the home side managed a roughly 60/40 dominance in possession the visitors forced 9 corners to their 3 and produced around 20 goal attempts to 3. It shows that it's not just a question of getting and holding the ball that counts it's what you do with it when you've got it and the answer to that was clear. It took less than ten minutes for United to make their point. A period of pressing yielded a penalty which McGowan took. Veteran keeper got something to it but the lively McGOWAN seized on the rebound and buried it.

United pressure was sustained and when they got the ball they moved it well from back to front. They were the more direct side and got themselves firmly in the driving seat when ten minutes after the opening goal the trickery of Greig and GETHINS proved more than the young defenders could contain. Jinking about in the danger area Greig made enough space to flip a cute cut back into the path of the Irishman who despite his advancing years retains an unerring eye for goal and drove the ball home.

The pattern continued but it was also clear that with the fiercely combative Mackintosh, United had ball winning capacity and the ability to drive on from midfield to attack. The introduction of WOOD for McGowan in the middle of the second half added height and muscle to United's armoury and with the youngsters struggling to cope with successive waves of United attack the big striker forced the clincher in the 85th minute.

A last minute penalty was some consolation for Livy and some irritation to United who looked like managing a clean sheet until HENDERSON slotted home the spot kick.